Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock: Insider Jason Aryeh Sells 700 Shares

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh sold 700 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.43, for a total value of $224,301.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 108,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,849,325.94. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Jason Aryeh also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, October 30th, Jason Aryeh sold 1,411 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.24, for a total value of $451,858.64.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $316.13 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $298.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 30.96. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $175.89 and a 1-year high of $326.63. The company has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.16.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.00 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.22% and a net margin of 20.27%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.09 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LGND. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $357.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $358.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.22.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $201,623,000 after acquiring an additional 14,491 shares during the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $81,424,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,429,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,518,000 after purchasing an additional 37,696 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies intended to improve the development and commercialization of medicines. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional drug manufacturer, Ligand generally works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, receiving licensing payments, royalties and other consideration tied to partnered products.

The company’s principal technology is Captisol, a modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients.